Honzon

rdf:langString Honzon

rdf:langString Honzon (本尊, "fundamental honored [one]"), sometimes referred to as a Gohonzon (ご本尊 or 御本尊), is the enshrined main image or principal deity in Japanese Buddhism. The buddha, bodhisattva, or mandala image is located in either a temple or a household butsudan. The image can be either a statue or a small scroll and varies from sect to sect. It can be a singular image or a group of images; the honzon in the main (hondou) or treasure (kondou) hall of the temple can be for that particular hall or the entire temple complex. Sometimes honzon is the central image (chuuson) of a cluster of three (sanzonbutu) or five (goson) images. The physical creation of an icon is followed by a consecration ceremony (known as kaigen, literally 'opening the eyes' or 'dotting the eyes'). It is believed this transforms the honzon into a 'vessel' of the deity which in its own right has power.